


Hawkeye's Vent-ures (get it?!)

by breatheforeverypart



Series: Hawkeye & The Barton Family [3]
Category: Black Widow (Comics), Hawkeye (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: Deaf Character, Deaf Clint Barton, Gen, and hiding, barton is good at circus tricks, bucky barnes is not a robot, bucky is babysitting, fluffier than most of my stuff, in the vents, it's not going well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23216638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breatheforeverypart/pseuds/breatheforeverypart
Summary: Bucky is supposed to be babysitting an injured Clint when he escapes to the gym.  He winds up hiding in the vents and communication issues ensue.  In my AU's Clint is always deaf.  The pair communicate in ASL (American Sign Language).
Relationships: Avengers as family - Relationship, James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov
Series: Hawkeye & The Barton Family [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1758646
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Hawkeye's Vent-ures (get it?!)

The handle of the broom rapped against the vent. The ceiling tile had already been cast aside and the vibrations echoed in the gym. 

“Barton!” Bucky yelled. He’d only succeeded in knocking loose a couple of wrappers that fluttered around him like sticky butterflies. 

“No.” Came the muffled reply from somewhere in the duct work above him. 

He dropped the broom and settled himself on the padded floor. As annoying as this was, he had volunteered for babysitting duty. The Avengers were on a mission abroad and Clint was on mandatory leave. 

He’d managed to break his ankle while collecting his arrows during a mission in Philly. In true Clint fashion he then tried to walk on his hands to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal and fractured two ribs. In fairness to him, the med floor had told him that he should stay off his feet. He did adhere to that rule. He just injured himself in the process. 

“Okay. You don’t have to come down.” He addressed the vent. “Let’s talk like this?” 

Plonk. A hearing aid dropped on his nose. Wow. Hawkeye really did have impeccable aim. Point taken dude. 

“Fine. But if we’re gonna sign you’re gonna have to use your eyes.” 

Another hearing aid landed neatly on his left knee. Hmm. He’ll take that as a positive. 

What would Natasha do? He suppressed a laugh. She’d probably squeeze herself in next to Barton and work her Widow magic until he agreed to leave the vent. 

There was no way in hell Bucky could fit in that vent. Not with the arm that didn’t even feel like his, even though Tony had been slowly modifying it over the past few months. 

Looking up, the vent was still empty. Great. Now he couldn’t communicate with him at all. Not unless he decided to show his ugly mug and use ASL. 

Chewing on his lip, Bucky unlocked his phone. 

"What would you say if I let our friend go to the gym?" 

Immediately Natasha began typing. 

"I would say you’re an idiot. I warned you he didn’t have a great night." 

The swell of guilt Bucky had been avoiding threatened to overwhelm him. The ping of his notifications trilled and he turned his attention back to his phone. 

"After he throws his hearing aids, wait for him to look at you." 

Honestly it was simultaneously infuriating and a relief that he she was able to read the situation so well. 

"He knows you’re a safe person. Bribe him with candy. I’ve got his favorites under my mattress. Hole up in there until I get back. Don’t ask him about Barney. When he gets all sugared up he likes to snuggle." 

Despite the situation, Bucky found himself smirking. 

"I’m warning you, he will steal a sweatshirt, let him. Put on Wall-E. It’s a favorite." 

The hair on the back of his neck prickled and Bucky jerked his eyes to vent. 

The archer’s bright blue eyes narrowed back at him. 

Dropping his phone Bucky quickly signed "You're safe here. Are you okay? You're safe with me. 

After a beat Clint nodded slowly. 

Bucky tried to remember Natasha’s name sign as he struggled to put together a sentence. Clint cocked his head from above him. 

"Do you want to hide?" he asked. 

"With you?" Clint answered quickly, both hands retreating out of view. 

Bucky nodded. "Yeah. We're going to Nat's room. Put on a movie, maybe raid her candy stash?" 

"Nat's safe? You're okay?" Clint asked. 

"Yes. Can I help you?" He offered his hands up in the help sign hand shape towards the vent. 

Deftly Clint landed on his feet and didn’t make a sound. 

Bucky slipped the hearing aids into his pants pocket and stiffened when the Archer tried to thread his fingers through the metal arm’s fingers. 

Natasha mentioned Clint liked physical contact, but he was certainly not prepared for this level of intimacy. 

With trepidation Bucky gently squeezed the fingers that comfortably fit in his palm. Clint sighed and let his head fall against Bucky’s neck. The warm body against his felt oddly comfortable. 

He couldn’t say whether or not Clint was an idiot for trusting him not to hurt him, but for now everything was okay. Natasha trusted him. Clint was beginning to trust him. Maybe one day, he could start to trust himself.


End file.
